Huawei MateView GT 34in
A high-quality curved display with an innovative soundbar; tempting for office workers and gamers alike
SCORE
PRICE With sound bar, £416 (£500 inc VAT) from consumer.huawei.com/uk
As we saw with its first MateView ( see issue 326, p86), a gorgeous 28.2in monitor with a 3:2 aspect ratio, Huawei isn’t afraid to think differently when it comes to screen design. The MateView GT 34in doesn’t tear up quite so many rule books as its sibling, but this well-built curved screen includes a handful of nifty features that mean it’s equally as happy when the night draws in as it is during office hours.
Some of that versatility is due to a 21:9 panel based on MVA technology. MVA stands for multi-domain vertical alignment, and its historic disadvantage compared to in-plane switching (IPS) panels was that it struggled to display pure whites. A top-quality IPS panel would still win for purity versus the MateView GT, but you would need a keen eye to notice the difference; I was more than happy with this panel’s whites when using Google Docs.
Besides, MVA brings its own collection of plus points. It’s better suited to curved screens than IPS, and the gentle 1500R curvature Huawei chooses for this screen feels right for a 34in monitor: it brings the edges closer to your eyes without consuming too much desk space. I’m still recovering from having the 49in Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 ( see issue 327, p91) on my desk, where it left little space for anything else.
MVA also offers a higher contrast ratio than IPS, with the MateView GT returning a 2,580:1 static ratio result in our tests. That comes in useful when fine-tuning games, making dark corners that much easier to see without blowing out bright areas, and Huawei doubles down by including a “Dark field control” option that tweaks the brightness when it detects dark scenes. There’s also a variety of crosshairs to choo se from, while a 165Hz refresh rate is surely as hi gh as most people need to go.
The big negative point compared to dedicated gaming screens is its 4ms grey-to-grey response time rather than 1ms. There’s no Nvidia G-Sync certification either, but it does support adaptive sync to avoid tearing. One final note: you will need to head into the intuitive, joystickcontrolled OSD to activate this panel’s topmost Overdrive setting if you want the smoothest results in fast-moving games. Even then, though, high-end 32in gaming monitors such as the MSI Oculux NXG253R ( see issue 327, p90) will give you slicker results.
The OSD also gives you control over the RGB lighting built into the soundbar. In truth, it feels half-hearted, and because it’s not part of a wider RGB system it will always be acting on its own.
Where the light bar becomes useful, however, is for controlling the soundbar volume. Press once on the bar and it lights up white to indicate the level (so, halfway indicates 50% volume), and then you can run your finger left or right to decrease or increase the volume. This isn’t a soundbar to rival expensive add-ons for a living room TV, but I was pleasantly surprised by its quality. It coped admirably with the complex drum intro to Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk”, and it’s excellent when it comes to the mid mid-range, range with melodic songs and even violin concertos coming through with great clarity. It was only in complex, multi-layered tracks by Björk where muddiness meant I missed having dedicated speakers.
They’re a great choice for films, too, and it helps that the screen is tuned to the movie-friendly DCI-P3 colour gamut. In its default mode, the MateView covered 88 % of that colour space with an average Delta E of 0.96, which are fine results. Huawei doesn’t offer any other presets, and the controls you do have – over contrast and colour temperature, for example – aren’t exactly sophisticated.
In fact, I imagine the only control people will change is the brightness, with a peak of 434cd/m2 in our tests. That’s significantly higher than the 350cd/m2 Huawei claims, but this still isn’t a panel that makes HDR games or videos burst from the screen.
Nor is it the most flexible of displays, with only 110mm of height adjustment, no swivel and a basic amount of tilt. And while it’s admirable to include a USB-C input for connecting laptops, I was surprised to see power delivery restricted to 10W – that’s enough to trickle-charge a laptop, but rivals such as the Philips Brilliance 346P1C ( see issue 326, p93) go up to 90W. There’s also no USB hub.
Two HDMI 2 ports and a DisplayPort connector round out the connections.
Considering the price, though, Huawei packs in the features. The Philips Brilliance costs around £60 more, and top-notch widescreen gaming monitors such as the MSI Oculux NXG253R are typically £700. If you don’t need the soundbar then you can save £50 from the MateView’s price, but it isn’t a sacrifice worth making: for £500, this is a great buy for someone seeking a work screen during the day and an entertainer at night. TIM DANTON
SPECIFICATIONS
34in 3,440 x 1,440 MVA panel up to 165Hz 1500R 00R curvature 10-bit panel (1.07 billion colours) lours) 4ms response time DisplayPort 1.4 4 2 x HDMI 2 USB-C (power delivery up to 10W) W) USB-C (for external power supply only) ly) 3.5mm jack 2 x 5W soundbar 2 x mics cs -5° to 20° tilt 110mm height adjustment justment 808 x 220 x 442-542mm (WDH)
6.6kg 2yr RTB warranty
“This isn’t a soundbar to rival expensive add-ons for a living room TV, but I was pleasantly surprised by its quality”